Now, the Nats have five important questions to answer as they enter the offseason:

What is the Nationals current payroll?

Which current Nationals players are entering free agency?

What holes will the team need to fill?

Who is a potential free-agent target for the Nationals?

Are there any possible trades the Nationals may pursue?

To answer those five question, here is the complete 2013-14 Washington Nationals offseason preview and predictions. This slideshow will contain both third-party analysis and personal predictions in an attempt to enhance your experience.

2. Nationals' Free Agents

According to Cot's Baseball Contracts, the Nationals have only two free agents to worry about during this offseason: Dan Haren and Chad Tracy.

Dan Haren earned $13 million this season in the only year of a one-year contract.

The 33-year-old finished with a 10-14 record and a 4.67 ERA in 169.2 innings over 30 starts and 31 total appearances, converting his only save opportunity. Haren walked 31 and struck out 151, while compiling a .268 batting average against and a 1.24 WHIP.

Personally, I think the Nationals will let Dan Haren walk. They paid way too much for what they got out of the veteran right-hander this season, and Washington can easily find a cheaper alternative, perhaps even within the organization.

Also 33 years old, Tracy batted .202 in 129 at-bats while playing in 92 games. He hit four home runs with 11 RBI and had a slugging percentage of .326.

Tracy was used mostly off the bench and was 11-for-64 as a pinch hitter with two home runs, five RBI and a 1.21 pinch-hit leverage index, according to Baseball-Reference.com. This is a slight decline from 2012, when Tracy was 12-for-46 as a pinch hitter with one home run, nine RBI and a 1.23 pinch-hit leverage index.

If you want my opinion, I think the Nats will part ways with Tracy. His numbers did not decline that much from last season, but the team may still want a new face in that role.

3. Holes to Fill

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Dan Haren (pictured) is not expected to return, leaving a hole in the starting rotation.

Regarding that vacancy, Amanda Comak of The Washington Times wrote that "the team expects Ross Detwiler (herniated disc) to return healthy, giving it four set starters. Jordan, Roark and perhaps Ross Ohlendorf could all compete for that No. 5 spot."

Here is a comparison of the 2013 statistics for the three Nationals' pitchers who could be competing for the fifth and final spot in the starting rotation next year:

Nationals GM Mike Rizzo told Comak that there are two other holes the Nationals will need to fill, saying "we’ll probably look to improve the bullpen, see if we can improve the bench a little bit."

Regarding the bullpen, the Nationals finished 11th in the NL and 17th in MLB with a 3.56 reliever ERA. Comak added that "the Nationals’ most pressing need remains left-handed relief."

As for the bench, Comak wrote that "the production from the Nationals’ bench improved later in the year, right along with the rest of their offense, but they still hit just .207 in pinch-hit situations".

4. Potential Free-Agent Targets

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On Oct. 1, Amanda Comak of The Washington Times discussed the Nationals' need for a left-handed reliever, saying that "perhaps the Nationals will wade into the free-agent pool here again and try to secure someone like J.P. Howell, who turned the Nationals down last year in favor of a one-year deal with the Dodgers, or Oliver Perez, who has reinvented himself as a reliever the last two seasons."

If you ask me, Washington should not waste their time with Howell. He rebuffed the Nats last year, so the Nats should return the favor this year.

To fill the hole caused by the impending departure of Dan Haren, the Nationals could also look beyond their own organization for a replacement. Comak wrote that "the free-agent crop is also filled with veteran starters like Bronson Arroyo and Hiroki Kuroda, or players who’ll likely command more years and dollars, like Ervin Santana, Ricky Nolasco and Matt Garza."

Here's my two cents. Arroyo would be a perfect candidate to carry the torch once held by Haren and Edwin Jackson before him. And since the Nats are looking for a fourth starter and not a second or third starter, they should pass on Santana, Nolasco and Garza.

Finally, there is a very intriguing international free agent that the Nationals may be able to land.

Jose Dariel Abreu (pictured) is a power-hitting first baseman from Cuba who represented his native country at the 2013 World Baseball Classic. Ben Badler of Baseball America detailed his WBC performance, writing that "Abreu went 9-for-25 with three home runs, one double, no walks and five strikeouts to compile a .360/.385/.760 line in six games." Badler predicts that "with the Nationals likely to be in playoff contention next year, Abreu could be a fit."

Now, I don't think the Nationals will make this big of a splash during the 2013-14 offseason. However, Abreu would be a tempting offensive upgrade at first base.

5. Trade Possibilities

Even before Benson wrote that assessment, the Nationals were looking to deal Espinosa. On Aug. 27, Bill Ladson of MLB.com wrote that a source familiar with Espinosa believed that the Nationals were trying to trade Espinosa.

Nothing has changed since then to take Espinosa off the trading block, and the Nats may be able to kill two birds with one stone by trading their former starting second baseman.

If I got to play Mike Rizzo for a day, I would trade Espinosa to the Miami Marlins for Greg Dobbs (pictured) and a fourth- or fifth-round draft pick. Espinosa would be an upgrade at second base for the Marlins, and the 35-year-old Dobbs would be a worthy replacement for Chad Tracy as the Nats' primary pinch hitter.

In 2013, the left-handed hitting Dobbs was 10-for-48 as a pinch hitter with zero home runs, seven RBI and a 1.70 pinch-hit leverage index, according to Baseball-Reference.com. Plus, Dobbs is primarily a corner infielder, just like Tracy. Finally, Dobbs is under contract through 2014, making only $1.7 million according to Cot's Baseball Contract.